


Not a Lie

by abetternameneeded



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Branding, Child Abuse, Cults, Infection, Religious Fanaticism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 03:15:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28628649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abetternameneeded/pseuds/abetternameneeded
Summary: Tilly talks to detective rogers about eloise gardner.Based off of intothewickedwoods prompt(s.)
Kudos: 5





	Not a Lie

**Author's Note:**

  * For [zacobyz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zacobyz/gifts).



> Not entirely canon. Just further explorstion of the false/cursed memories tilly may have of the cult.

"It wasn't a lie." Eloise Gardner was dead. Tilly had known her years ago. She'd fallen "victim" to the same cult her father had. Detective Rogers hadn't brought up the subject. It was water under the bridge. Tilly had had her reasons to lie, and he'd let his anger at her go.

"She was dead, sort of." Rogers knew sometimes tilly spoke, and prpbably thought , in riddles and puzzles that only really kade sense to her. And that she didn't always follow a natural course in a conversation. It was almost random, her bringing up the lie she'd told, and apologized for.

"Ok?" He was curious but didn't want to pry.

She reached down ans fidgeted with the scarf on her wrist, he realized he'd never seen her take it off. Or even really move it when it was clearly in the way. But he had seen her move it in a specific patfern. Always the exact same. Almost like it was some kind of code.

"She was in a cult, a long time ago. I think? Those kill people, don't they?" Did she mean that in a literal sense or did she mean something else?

"I suppose."

"That symbol. On her necklace? The one in the boxcar? It's a mark of the coven of the eight."

Weaver had said they'd killed Tilly's father.

"My father, he was good, until he wasn't."

Rogers felt a refreshed surge of protectiveness over this girl. Imagining all the awful things she may have gone through, before she'd even finished talking.

"He met some women. They were nice to him. And most people assumed he couldn't take care of me by himself. Pretty sure he was the only guy in the thing." Her musings were more to herself for a moment, a habit she had no idea where she'd picked up. "He got in it pretty deep. Down the rabbit hole and all." She pulled the scar down, hissing in pain.

"They did this to me. And him. I survived it, he wasn't so lucky," she scoffed a bit. Her luck was horrid. "The doctors called it an infection, pretty sure the cops called it reckless endangerment. Didn't matter. He died either way."

Tilly pulled the scarf down. It'd been years and it still hurt. And looking at it felt like decalring her loyalty to the people that had killed her father.

Rogers took a moment to gather his thoughts. What could he say to that? It was horrific. She couldn't have been all thst old when it happend. "I'm sorry. How old were you?"

"He chose this. He stood there and watched as someone held me back while I was branded like bloody cattle. Can't say I expected much more by that point. By ten i knew he'd chosen the cult. I knew i was going to be forced into it. I knew ot was wrong. But i loved him and didn't want to get him in trouble. Maybe i should have?"

No wonder she'd called Eloise a monster. If she'd had anything to do with this. "Anyway, eloise was a part lf it. Guess she's their leader now? I don't go to their so called church anymore."

"There' a church?"

"Figure of speech, detective. And i believe that's checkmate."

"Figured me out, have you?"

"In the actual chess game, detective." He looked at the board. Oh she had his actual king on the board in checkmate. He'd expected a riddle.


End file.
